Wednesday, February 2, 2011

12:28 PM

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said it was irresponsible and reckless for the guv to require state employees to report to work today even as he closed their offices to the public because of the blizzard that swept across Wisconsin.

Erpenbach recounted the warnings from various public officials for the public to stay home and off the roads as they tried to clean up from the storm. He then questioned the logic behind having state employees come into work under those conditions when their offices weren't even open in the 29 counties covered by Walker's emergency order.

He also said they had a much more difficult time getting into work than the guv did.

“Gov. Walker woke up to a plowed driveway, a warm Suburban, security and he's not going to get stuck in a ditch today,” Erpenbach said. “If he does, they’ll just call another truck.”

Walker's order allowed state employees to stay home if they took the appropriate leave, though they were not allowed to use a sick day to stay home.